Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of a differential device comprising: a differential gear mechanism; and an integrated differential case housing the differential gear mechanism, the differential case including: first and second bearing bosses formed integrally on one side portion and other side portion of the differential case and aligned on a same axis to be rotatably supported by a transmission case; a work window for inserting the differential gear mechanism, the work window being provided in a peripheral wall of the differential case; a pair of sleeves being rotatably supported by the first and second bearing bosses and being connected to a pair of left and right side gears of the differential gear mechanism in a liquid tight manner; oil seals being set between outer end portions of the sleeves which protrude from the first and second bearing bosses and the transmission case; and left and right drive shafts being connected to the pair of side gears or the sleeves, and the present invention also relates to an improvement of a method of assembling the differential device.
Description of the Related Art
Such a differential device is known as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3751488 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2013-72524.
In the above-described differential device, separation between the side gears and the sleeves enables the differential gear mechanism including the side gears to be incorporated into the integrated differential case through the work window. Moreover, even when the drive shafts are removed from the differential device during maintenance, lubricating oil in the transmission case and the differential case is prevented from flowing out. Thus, lubricating oil does not need to be drained every time the drive shafts are removed, and ease of maintenance is good.
However, in the conventional differential device, after the differential gear mechanism including the side gears is incorporated into the differential case, the sleeves are fitted and inserted into the first and second bearing bosses from outside and connected to the side gears by adhesive bonding or special connecting means. Accordingly, it cannot be said that ease of assembly is good.